Peeves's Story
by Saskia
Summary: Ever wondered how Peeves came to be a ghost, and why he's so afraid of the Bloody Baron? R&R!


  
Peeves's story  
  
It was a normal day at Hogwarts, and the Hufflepuffs of the 4th year were enjoying another boring lesson of History of Magic.  
'Lessons,' thought Justin Finch-Fletchly as he looked around the sleepy class, 'should be forbidden. Especially lessons involving History of Magic.' His gaze went back to Professor Binns, a ghost and the most boring teacher ever to be known, who was holding a monologue about the Galluwayian stones in his monotone, everyday voice.   
Justin suppressed a groan and tried to look discreetly at his watch.   
Suddenly he was aware of whispering around him. He looked up and saw Ernie, his best friend, making urgent signs towards the blackboard. Justin turned and gasped. On the blackboard, as if by an invisible hand, the chalk was writing. The class rose to their feet as one, totally oblivious to the teacher, who, surprised at the sudden alertness of his class, was saying: 'Yes, the Galluwayian stones were named after Sir Robert of Galluway!'   
Meanwhile the chalk had finished it's work. hat was now standing on the blackboard was this:  
  
I am Lord Voldermort.  
I am going to get you.  
  
Almost at the same time total commotion broke out in the classroom. Tables were pushed around the room as if by invisible hands, chairs knocked their owners off and started zooming around the classroom, children screamed as they tried to make their way to the door. Above all the commotion, the ghostly voice of Professor Binns was heard bellowing: 'Peeves! Show yourself!'  
At once the noise stopped. A dustbin fell on Justin's head, showering him with its ingredients. Peeves materialized chortling and swooped through the door. Behind him the voice of Professor Binns screeched: 'I'll see to it that Professor Dumbledore hears about this!'   
Peeves chuckled to himself as he swooped through the corridors. No headmaster was going to stop him from making mischief!   
Meanwhile, in an empty room of the castle, totally oblivious to the noise and commotion, a small group of students had gathered.  
A small boy spoke up. He was in his teens, had black untidy hair that looked like it had never been touched by a brush, and small sellotape glasses. But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about his features was the small lightning shaped scar on his forehead.  
'So what's this new invention you were telling us about?' he was asking a pair of twins with lots of freckles and short red hair.   
'Yeah, what is it?' Another boy put in. He looked a bit like a slightly smaller version of the twins. 'I just hope it's not another set of exploding toilet seats, they're really getting beyond the joke.'  
His twin brothers, Fred and George Weasly, grinned at him. Fred shook his head. 'Much better than that. Much much better, coming to think of it. Dear Mr. Potter,' here he addressed the first boy with the scar, 'will you do us the honor of lifting this sheet up?' Harry walked forward cautiously and pulled the sheet off the big rectangular thing standing in front of him. He stared at it in disbelieve.  
Ron finally broke the silence. 'But it's just a mirror!'  
'Ah, but not any mirror!' said George, stepping beside it. 'This one does a very special effect. When you look into it your reflection will change into one of the scariest things you can imagine. Care for a try, Mr. Weasly?'  
Both Ron and Harry, acting as one, backed away.  
'In that case we will have to look for another victim , er , volunteer. I thought I saw Mr. Malfoy in the library today…' Fred stopped. From outside the hallway a series of chuckles and laughter was hear, followed by a crash and even more laughter.  
'Peeves!' The boys groaned together.  
'Quick, hide!' The twins ushered Ron and Harry into a wardrobe beside the door. And not a moment to soon. Peeves floated through the door, on his head the hat of a statue he had undoubtedly knocked over a second before. He made some swoops around the room, until the mirror caught his eye. He floated in front of it, and turned the hat around backwards.   
'Hmm, soots me!' he chuckled and was about to fly away again when something caught his eye. He turned towards his reflection and froze. Before his wide staring eyes, his reflection was changing.  
His stomach was growing wider, as also his head and his other body features. Silver bloodstains appeared, spreading all over him. Peeves was unable to move. He was staring into the reflection of the Bloody Baron!   
'Aaaargh!' Peeves screamed and shot off backwards headfirst into the wardrobe.   
'Aaaargh!' Fred, George, Ron and Harry screamed as they stumbled out of it.  
'Aaaargh!' the two parties screamed as they caught site of each other on the floor. Peeves extended a shaking finger towards the mirror and said: 'Th.. th… the…'  
'The what?' Ron asked, trying to pick himself up  
'The Bloody Baron was in the mirror!' Peeves blurted out, looking absolutely terrified.   
'No he wasn't!' Ron said, brushing himself off. 'That's another of my brothers' inventions. You see the thing you're most afraid of, you see…' A grin spread over his face. 'Why, did you see the Baron?'  
'That's none of your business!' Peeves snapped and floated towards the door.  
'WAIT, PEEVES!' a voice bellowed behind him.  
Peeves turned around slowly. Harry was standing in the middle of the room, pointing his wand at him. Harry said, this time more calmly:  
'The mirror shows only what you fear the most. Tell us, Peeves, why did you see the Bloody Baron?'  
'And why should I tell you?' Peeves asked haughtily, eyeing the wand and edging to the door.  
'Because if you don't, we'll tell everyone how silly you just acted, being afraid of your own reflection.' George said, thinking fast.  
Peeves looked into their triumphant faces and faltered.  
'Ok, I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to tell anyone.   
'We promise!' The boys chorused.  
'Okay then.' Peeved waved them closer. 'It all started when I was a young boy…  
  
  
Jeremy Peeves turned breathlessly around the corner of the corridor. At the far end of the West Wing he could hear muffled cries of rage.   
'Muffled, because of all the snowballs pounding into the people who try to say something,' he thought to himself and chuckled. He leaned against the cool wall and giggled. 'I think the 'word-magnetic' snowballs were a great success.' he though. Maybe he should just take on more peep…  
He turned his blond hair around the corner, and the smile left his face. Standing infront of him, arms folded and melting snow dripping off his plump features, stood the headboy Drew Malrose. The same Drew Malrose always ready to catch him doing something wrong, and always just as ready to punish him. But this time it was different. Peeves wasn't near the crime, and Malrose didn't have any evidence. All this didn't make Peeves feel much better, though.  
'Well, Peeves!' Drew boomed, 'what do you have to say for yourself?'  
Peeves swallowed. 'About what, sir?' he asked meekly.  
'About THIS! About what happened in the library! About the fact that it was me who just had to make a total fool out of myself!'  
'A fool, sir?' Peeves squeaked.  
Malrose leaned down until he was almost nose to nose with Peeves. 'Listen to me,' he growled. 'I know about it was you. Don't ask me how, I just know. I'll be watching out for you, Peeves. Let me tell you what just happened in the library. A horde of snowballs flew in through the door. At first they were only circling around at the ceiling, but as soon as people uttered a gasp of surprise or said anything whatsoever, they started hurtling themselves at them. And guess what happened to people trying to say a counterspell! And then guess what happened to the person who was trying the hardest! And THEN, Peeves, guess who that person was!'  
'You, sir?' Peeves voice was barely a whisper as he flattened himself against the wall.  
'Yes, me, Peeves! So don't you every let me see you again! And if I'm ever, every involved in another of your stupid tricks…' Malrose stopped and drew a vertical line across his neck. Then, smiling evilly, he picked himself up and marched down the corridor. Peeves let out a sigh of relief.  
'Yes, your highness!' he sneered when he was sure that Malrose was out of earshot. 'Of course I'll make sure!'  
Not much happened after the innocent in the library. Years past, Peeves continuing his mischief in school until his final exams, always sure not to make too much trouble and even more cautious about who he involved in it. When he finished school he got a job as a potion assistant at Hogwarts, where he continued with his pranks making cauldrons explode in the middle of a dangerous experiment or putting sneeze powder down in class so students or teachers would sneeze at a critical point. He was quite happy with his life there. He never wanted it to change so soon.  
One day, the current headmaster, Professor Fenrich introduced him to the school inspector: Baron Malrose. Peeves felt his blood freeze as he shook the Baron's hand. The Baron was no one else than Drew! 'I wonder if he remembers me,' Peeves thought.  
  
'At first it seemed as if the Baron didn't know me,' Peeves continued, but then…' he stopped and sighed.   
'Then what?' Harry asked.  
'You sure you're not going to tell this to anyone? You promised!'  
'Of course not!' the boys chorused, Fred and George trying hard to keep a straight face.   
  
'All right then.' Peeves sighed and continued. 'After a while…'  
After a while Peeves had the feeling the Baron did remember him. Odd comments were dropped for him to overhear, and more than once he thought he saw the Baron smiling at him in an odd way.  
'I bet that wasn't meant bad, you just suspected him a little to much!' Ron blurted out. Peeves glared at him. 'Oh yeah? Well, listen to this! One day…'  
One day Peeves found a note on his bed: 'I still think it was you.' Peeves was very scared, and peered anxiously into any empty room before daring to enter it. He was very nervous, and in every shadow he saw he thought the Baron was waiting for him.   
  
'One day a thing happened that change all my future plans and his.' Peeves said.  
'What happened?' the twins asked.  
'I died.' Peeves said simply.  
The other stared at him.  
'There's no need to look like that! When you're anxious that something will happen to you any minute and you're not paying attention to what's going on around you something like that is bound to happen!'  
'What happened?' Fred asked.  
'With what?'  
'I mean, how did you die?' Fred said impatiently.  
'That, er , doesn't have anything to do with this story. Anyhow, do you want me to continue?'  
The boys nodded eagerly.   
'Well then, let me see…'  
  
Only people with unfinished businesses become ghosts, and Peeves had one: Lord Baron of Malrose. In shape of a ghost, Malrose was never going to harm him, and Peeves could make him suffer as much as he wanted to!  
'I wanted to start of with something I was sure about,' Peeves continued. 'Exploding cauldrons! My best ever invention!'  
Fred and George gave him a look of praise.  
'So this is what I did…'  
After the last class had finished, Peeves sneaked into the potions room. 'Lets see now,' he thought, 'a little drop of that here, some of this there…' He regarded his work with critically and rubbed his hands. 'Tomorrow's class with Mr. Malrose is going to have a surprise.' he thought and chuckled to himself.  
The next day Malrose came down to the potion room to see a demonstration of the potion teacher's works. All went well until the last potion. The potion was supposed to turn green, which it didn't.   
'Let me see,' said the current potion teacher, Mr. Vanecken, nervously. 'Maybe if I add some more of Mandrake juice…'  
At that moment the potion exploded. It showered itself all over the people in the room, making them grow long beards and hair. Except on Mr. Malrose.  
'Why?' The boys asked in unison..  
'Well, because at that moment he died.' Peeves said. 'Turned out there still was some potion left in the other cauldron, and when the hair grow potion mixed with it, it also exploded. Malrose was standing directly next to it so he got the worst. Look, it was nobody's fault, alright?' Peeves said, looking into their shocked faces. 'No one could have known what was in the other cauldron, and that that would happen! Anyway the story doesn't end there.'  
  
Peeves watched all this from his hiding place. He heard the potion teacher say: 'He's dead. No one can bleed so much without being dead.' He heard the headmaster say: ' I'll let the specialists analyze the cauldron. Someone must have done something to it.' But Peeves saw something different. He saw the ghost of the Baron get up and look around puzzled. He saw it looking around, as if searching for something, and look straight at the headmaster. Or through him.  
  
'My hiding place was directly behind the headmaster, you see? I'm pretty sure he saw me. Or, at least, I'm sure he knows it was me.' Peeves fell silent. The others didn't know what to say.  
'Well now I've told you my story. And now, please, can I go?'   
'Ok, Peeves. And we won't tell anyone, will we, guys?' Fred said, winking at the others.   
'Better stick to that promise, otherwise…' Peeves stopped. The door opened, and the children and he looked into the angry faces of Filch, the caretaker.   
'PEEVES!' Filch bellowed. 'BECAUSE OF YOU I HAVE TO CLEAN UP A WHOLE ROOM! GET BACK THERE AND CLEAN IT U-' Filch fell silent. Behind Peeves, his reflection in the mirror was changing. Slowly but clearly, it was becoming the familiar features of:  
'HAGRID?' Peeves and the boys exclaimed at once.   
'That requires a story, Filch.' said Peeves quickly. 'Or we'll tell everyone you were afraid of your own reflection.  
Filch stared into their triumphant faces.  
  
The End  
  
Authors note: This was my very first fanfic, written about a year ago. I edited small parts but left most of it as it was. I hoe you've enjoyed it... I'm sure it's totally original, I've never seen anyone else with the idea! Anyway... please review! And read some of my other stories!   
Cheers,  
*Saskia 


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